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Memo to the Left: Winning Votes is Not ‘Selling Out’

Loris Caruso il manifesto
We do not have to choose between “winning” or “bearing witness and representing." There is no contradiction. In order to bear witness and represent, people must put themselves forward as candidates for social and political victory,

Tapping the Enormous Electoral Potential of Low Income Voters

Frances Madeson Capital & Main
A voter registration booth at a memorial site for George Floyd.
What impact could 34 million poor nonvoters make if they started participating in elections? According to a new report commissioned by the Poor People’s Campaign, it could be massive and warrants the deployment of significant 2020 campaign resources.

The ‘Fragile’ Middle East and the Declining Power of the Petrostates

Patrick Cockburn The Independent
Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (l), US President Donald Trump, and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
Historic change is taking place in the Middle East and North Africa, but it has nothing to do with the much-trumpeted “historic” pact between Israel and the UAE. The 50-year misrule of the petrostates is ending and the results could be shattering.

The Next Attorney General Should Enforce the Rule of Law, Protect Constitutional Rights and Investigate Abuse of Power

Kevin Zeese Green Shadow Cabinet
We urge President Obama to replace Holder with a public interest not a corporate lawyer; that will put the rule of law before corporate power. This appointment is an opportunity to shut the revolving door between big business and government. We also hope the next attorney general will put rule of law ahead of the security state, prosecute torture and other war crimes, protect privacy from US intelligence agencies and protect Freedom of Speech, Assembly and Press.

Hyatt to Pay Ousted Workers $1 million in Boycott-ending Deal

Katie Johnston The Boston Globe
Under the settlement, these workers, who were supported by the hospitality union Unite Here, also will receive preference in hiring at future Boston-area Hyatt hotels, although many said they would be reluctant to return to a Hyatt unless it is unionized. Nationwide, about a quarter of Hyatt hotels have a union presence, and Marc Ellin, senior vice president at Hyatt, said future Hyatts in Greater Boston “could involve union representation

What’s Wrong With the Radical Critique of the People’s Climate March

Jonathan Smucker and Michael Premo The Nation
Last Sunday’s march was an important step toward building a popular movement for climate justice, which, in turn, is a necessary condition for more radical actions—like the ones FWS organized. The dichotomy between the PCM and FWS is a false one. What the world saw last week in New York was a vibrant movement ecosystem in which a broad mobilization and its radical edges engaged in a critical interplay.

West's Problematic Embrace of India's Modi

Priyamvada Gopal Al Jazeera
Far from offering a new or original vision of collective good, the Hindu right-wing, which is Modi's political home, peddles a recycled imperial understanding of India and is parasitic upon some of its worst civilisational assumptions and the repressive institutions the British Empire bequeathed its former possession. These include laws criminalising 'sedition' and criminalising homosexuality, both of which are embraced enthusiastically by the Hindu right.

Feeding the Roots, Building Democracy: On Painting Peter Kellman

Robert Shetterly Common Dreams
The artist's essay that follows accompanies the 'online unveiling'—exclusive to Common Dreams—of Shetterly's latest painting in his "Americans Who Tell the Truth" portrait series, presenting citizens throughout U.S. history who have courageously engaged in the social, environmental, or economic issues of their time. This painting of union organizer and food community builder Peter Kellman is his latest portrait.